Volunteers and Donors Support Amuseum Naturalis Relaunch

ST. MARTIN (GRAND CASE) - This year, non-profit association Les Fruits de Mer is working on an ambitious project to relaunch their free museum, Amuseum Naturalis.

The Amuseum's new home is the site of the former Old House museum between French Quarter and Orient Bay. In addition to exhibits about nature, the new museum will feature local heritage and culture.

“This is a huge project for us, but we have had an amazing amount of support,” explained Les Fruits de Mer President Jenn Yerkes. “Over 100 donors contributed to our fundraiser last month, raising over $11,000 for the project. And over 80 people have already come out to volunteer at the site. This support makes the project possible, and also shows that people want a museum for the community and want to be part of making it happen.”

For Les Fruits de Mer, the current volunteer work is just the beginning of an ongoing collaboration with the community to make the museum an active space. The association is developing community projects—like gardens and a free nursery for native trees. They also want to create exhibits with community members who have stories to share.

“Our goal is to create a space where people can share the stories of St. Martin in many ways—exhibits, videos and live events,” explained Les Fruits de Mer co-founder Mark Yokoyama. “We can record the stories and develop exhibits, but the stories have to come from the people of St. Martin. Everyone has a story.”

Volunteers are invited to help work on the museum from 8am to 11am on Sunday, April 8th. There will be an idea box for volunteers to submit ideas about what they'd like to see featured in the Amuseum.

Volunteers can also suggest plants that should be grown in the museum’s bush tea garden. For more information visit http://www.lesfruitsdemer.com or find Les Fruits de Mer on Facebook.